Tram Incident: Workers Not Happy With Servicing

In Search of Hope – by Sam Gannon

Seconded to the parish of Tililngdon, the Reverend Dolores has been presented with a challenge.

She’s living in an antiquated house and she’s cold. Furthermore, her new Bishop, Bishop Alice does not approve of ‘showgirls in dog collars.’

Determined to prove the Bishop wrong, she sets about warming her house – who cares if it smells of horse! There is the crochet club, jumble sale, and soup run to organise. And this year, the church bells will ring, no matter what threats are made. Even more so, the newly formed choir will spread a little joy this Christmas, even though they can’t sing – yet! And with a little help from Phil, her bassist, this year could be full of magic.

However, she has a fight on her hands as the townies out in Knob Hill – she must stop calling it that, are trying to stop her from ringing her bells. When Krystal with a K decides to do some volunteer work, Dolores sets out to see just how committed she really is.

Up to her ears in granny squares and squawking choristers, Dolores is revving up for Christmas, yet a deeper darker secret is beginning to emerge!

A secret that could blow the whole parish apart and put Dolores in danger.

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Workers of the municipal company Carris, in Lisbon, presented “successive complaints” regarding the need for better tram maintenance, including the one in Glória that derailed today, said Manuel Leal, union leader of Fectrans and STRUP.

“Fundamentally, there should be a rigorous investigation into the accident and its causes, especially as workers have been requesting the need for the maintenance of the trams to revert to the responsibility of Carris engineers and not be handed over to external companies, as is the specific case of the Glória tram,” said Manuel Leal, in a press statement.

Representative of all Carris workers, the union leader of Fectrans – Federation of Transport and Communications Workers’ Unions and the Union of Road and Urban Transport Workers of Portugal (STRUP) deeply regretted the incident, but at the time the article was written, they had no information regarding the severity of injuries the brakeman suffered.

“The workers themselves were reporting the difference in maintenance between Carris workers and the company used today. Many were worried about the voltage level of the support cables.”

In Manuel Leal’s perspective, the tram derailment supports workers’ claims and that a board of inquiry should be set up, as well as re-establishing the Carris workshops so that all maintenance can be done in-house.

The President of the Republic has reached out to the nation, stating that he “deeply regrets the accident that occurred this afternoon with the tram (funicular) of Glória, in Lisbon, in particular the fatalities and the seriously injured, as well as the several minor injuries.”

The Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR) has opened an investigation into the derailment of the Elevador da Glória, Lisbon.

“Similar to what happens in this type of situation, and as determined by law, the Public Prosecutor’s Office will open an investigation,” says the PGR, in a response sent to Lusa.

The PGR also mentions that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is conducting the necessary procedures within its jurisdiction, specifically to preserve evidence, under the guidance of criminal police authorities.”

Later this morning, news was released that the brakeman, André Marques, was killed in the accident

Samantha Gannon

info at madeira-weekly.com

Photo: JM